Finally, after years of searching I came across what I believe is Richard's second book-- BALLS! Lessons in Side-Arm Snookery. For such an early comb bound book it is exceptionally well done. The writing is typically great and the illustrations are the best I've seen on this subject. What an obscure classic! Richard, how many of these were printed? It's easy to see why I have never seen one offered for sale in years. Now my Kaufman collection is complete, and I bet yours isn't. :)

Balls! Lessons in Side-Arm Snookery was my second book after The Interlocked Production of Coins. Both came out in 1977 when I was 19. The routines in Balls!, however, were created several years before that, and really are the creative daydreams of a 16-year-old obsessed with magic and billiard balls. The only person who ever actually saw me perform any billiard ball magic was my mother, in our living room.

I have an edition of this book, but it does not have the comb-binding. The binding is a standard glued-edge. On the back, there is a Tannen's logo (3-rabbits) and it has the price ($9.95) printed on the back cover. On what you would call the title page, it has a date of 1977. Is this the 2nd edition of the book?

That one was never on Ebay. I don't put them all on - just those that I don't think I'll use much in the future. And if I'm not really sure I want to get rid of them, I set the prices high.

I had a bunch which didn't sell but most of the "good" ones had very high starting bids. Since Ebay had about a week of free auction listings, I was able to list them at no cost even though the prices were high.

I have been thinking about listing here rather than giving Ebay their cut. That was one reason I joined up here. But I'm having a good time just interacting with the folks here. They are mighty nice and responsive. Plus, I just got done with a lot of selling during the free listing period and I need to take a break. My wife and kids like to see me. And now that the kids are done school, we'll have some fun together.

I saw Sonny Narvaez perform a really nice billiard ball routine about 21 years ago. When I asked him about the source, he mentioned Richard's book. Those "creative daydreams" on the page translated to some good magic in reality.

Danny Orleans used to perform one of my billiard ball routines a long time ago.

Because so little has been written about billiard ball magic, it wasn't difficult to devise new routines.

The only one I can still do is The Interlocked Production of Billiard Balls, which was presented to me as a problem by Senor Mardo. It looks great, but only from the front because it's so angly. It's perfect for a magic video, though. :)

Your book "BALLS! Lessons in Side-Arm Snookery" Helped me get into the Jr Magician Program at the Magic Castle back in 1981. It was also the first "magic" related item I got when I moved from FL to CA. I picked it up at Hollywood Magic on my 12th birthday back in 1980. At the time I had been doing the BB's for about 5 years going back to Paul Diamonds shop in FL. I can honestly say that if I had not used some of the moves from your book I probably would not have passed my audition. Diana Zimmerman even told me that my BB routine is what got me in, because everything else I did went to s*** on me...LOL. It's also the last time I think I ever performed the BB's on stage. After meeting Vernon I made the switch to close-up magic that was it...No more birds, balls, silks, canes & candles for me.
So I guess, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for putting that book together. I still think it's a good book especially coming from a 19 year old at the time. Do me a favor and don't reprint this book. I have 2 copies when the price goes up some more I'll sell one and then have some pizza and beers sent to your office...HUH...HUH...LOL.